Radical Liberal Party
The Radical Liberal Party (formally the Radical Party) is a centre-left political party operating within Federal Union of Gaduridos, originally founded in January 3987 by disaffected members of the Social Democratic party, which saw the party drifting too far to the left in order to combat heavy losses to the Liberal Socialist Party. The party later in 4004 merged with the LSP following poor electoral results and the desire for a merger on the centre-left of politics. The party was founded by three members of the Social Democrats; branch chairman Lim Zhang; ex-Federal Senate candidate Eva Moreno; and councillor Marcial Soriano. The gang of three was later joined by well-known singer-songwriter Wu Yifan who had publically criticised the minority Social Democrat government. The party's first election would come in July 3989 with Wu Yifan standing as the presidential candidate and number one on the South Vintalli list, making him one of the youngest presidential candidates in history. He earned an impressive 9,046,296 votes, taking just under 15% of the vote. At the same time, he was elected to the Federal Senate, along with another 114 Radical Party candidates. The party had been playing down expectations only expecting around 5% of the vote. History The party was founded as a breakaway from the Social Democrats, the party was overlooked in its first few months of existence until singer-songwriter, Wu Yifan announced he was joining the party as it was the progressive alternative. Yifan pulled the spotlight to the party allowing it some much-needed media spotlight in order for it to start climbing in the opinion polls. The party posed itself as an alternative to the Social Democrats who they claimed had lost sight of social democracy and had drifted off to the 'nonsensical left' in order to compete with the LSP. The party first competed in the July 3989 Senate and Presidential elections. The party surpassed their own expectations and opinion polls receiving a late swing to them on election day, winning 15% of the vote and coming third. In total 115 of the party's candidates were elected. The party reluctantly entered into a coalition with the Liberal Socialist Party and the Social Democrats, although earned a reputation for being the most rebellious section of the coalition often voting against their partners in matters not concerning the budget and key agreed policies. In the 3992 General Election, Wu Yifan decided against running instead balloted party members on endorsing incumbent president Enzo Iglesias, the vote passed with 83.4% of members approving of the party backing Iglesias. The party had been climbing the polls at a steady rate, but after the televised debates several weeks before the election day the party surged to a six-point lead over their rivals the 'Good Folk'. Wu told activists to be cautious of the polls, and not to get complacent, the party's efforts paid off, winning 32.41% of the vote, a nine-point lead over their rivals, the Good Folk. Following the election, Wu Yifan was proposed as Prime Senator, which was backed by the majority of the house after the party proposed a coalition with the Liberal Socialist Party, excluding the Social Democrats. He headed the cabinet made up of seven fellow Radical MPs and five LSP MPs. The party in early November of the same year began to put forward the motion of re-establishing the union between Gaduridos and Indrala, after working closely with Indrala's governing party, the Jien Faction. The motion stirred up a huge debate in the country, especially considering the Radical Party's above average vote share of those of Indralan decent, and given the nationality of Wu Yifan. The party dropped into second in the 3995 General Election, winning only 19% of the vote down 11 points on three years previous, this was mainly seen as a backlash from non-Indralan voters who saw the proposed union as traitorous. The growing tension between the party and their coalition partner, the LSP, had become apparent following the president's proposal that ousted the Radical Party from the government, infuriating many Radical Party Senators. The party was dealt another strategic blow following the leaking of Wu Yifan's ancestry that linked him to the royal bloodline of Indrala and the decision of the Empire to grant Wu the title of 'Prince of Indrala' making his official title, Senator Prince Wu Yifan, he chose not to step aside following a vote by the party's Senator's that gave him 100% backing. The party's chance to win back power came following the collapse of the LSP-SD-PP government which saw the Good Folk's and the Partido Popular dissolve following legal issues and corruption allegations. It positioned itself as the party of stable government and true leadership citing the nation's economic stability during its time in power. The party regained many lost voters, but couldn't quite beat its 3992 performance mustering 29% of the vote, coming first, but more crucially Wu managed to oust President Enzo Iglesias, beating him in the run-off 51% to Iglesias' 49% making him the first Radical Party president, breaking his seven-year tenure. The party was forced into minority government following what the now Home Secretary, Feliciano Valderrama, claimed to be 'an incapable bunch of whiners' entering the Senate who 'couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery'. In November 3997 after a year and a half in government, the Conservative Union launched a motion of no-confidence in Wu's government following a bombing at the Deltarian Embassy at a shaky economic period, his party was defeated at the General Election being reduced down to 110 seats with 15% of the vote. Wu lost the presidency and resigned immediately, with what the media noted as, a great look of relief. Wu announced he would not take his seat in the new Senate and wanted to return to his music career. Carolina Punset took over as leader of the party five months after Wu's resignation following a leadership election which she won the second ballot with 55.7% of the vote, her approval amongst the backbench of the party helped boost her to victory. The party was very active within the public domain but it had become clear that newer parties were grabbing the attention of the public compared to the more 'established' parties. In the 4004 General Election the party shrunk in size again only winning 11.78% of the vote 3% down from the last election, the parliamentary party went from 96 to 75 Senators however, the party did manage to top the vote in one electoral region. Punset stayed on as leader negotiating a merger with the Liberal Socialist Party who had rapidly declined in the vote share, with the party leadership shifting it towards reactionary ideals, the merger was accepted the two parties merged into the 'Radical Liberal Party'. The Radical Liberal surged in the polls following the merger becoming the largest party in the country in late 4005, winning each subsequent election. Huang Zi Tao took the role of Prime Senator following the December 4005 General Election, despite often arguing with Punset behind the scenes. In the aftermath of the 4009 General Election Kim Min-seok and Manuel Romagnoli were booted from the cabinet following some public disagreements saying Punset lacked direction, this started the slow internal rupturing. Punset was eventually ousted by the grassroots with Manuel Romagnoli winning a leadership challenge 54% to Punset's 46%, the party selected 51-year-old Alberto Chan as their presidential candidate. It was noted that the party did well winning 26% of the vote, down from 29% despite their 10 years leading a coalition government. The party entered into coalition with the Social Democrats following the 4015 General Election, in which Wu Yifan's son, Wu Chen, elected to the Senate in North Vintalli, positioned at number 21 on the list. Policies Young People The party wishes to enable young adults to have responsibility and decision-making at sixteen, including the right to vote, economic independence with a choice between work, further education, community service or a combination of all three. The Party would provide grants for students which would also be extended to cover all types of training and for 16- to 17-year-olds to be able to claim housing benefits and income support, pending the introduction of a tax credit system. Drugs Repeal of legislation regarding non-prescription drugs and its replacement with a strategy of regulation, control and taxation with an increase in education and treatment services. The creation of an independent multi-agency coordinating body to oversee policy development; the dissemination of accurate information to minimise drug-related harm to individuals and communities. The aim is to close the criminal marketplace and cause a reduction in related crime and violence. Liberty & Privacy The party promotes individual liberty and privacy, including controls on the illegitimate use of surveillance cameras, and of commercial exploitation of recordings of individuals on private or public property. The party calls for respect of privacy by the press and media and opposes misuse of libel law by the rich and powerful. The party proposes to limit libel liability to those with editorial control with an aim to establish facts and get corrections printed and supports the use of legal aid by ordinary citizens to enforce privacy rights. The party opposes the introduction of compulsory identity cards. Crime & Justice Courts to be given the additional power to initiate further investigation. Imprisonment for crimes against the person, or which put persons at risk of physical, psychological or emotional injury. The party supports the right to choose a trial by jury. The party opposes capital punishment, including the continued use of the death penalty overseas. The party believes magistrates and judges should reflect the values of Gaduridan society and communities. Leadership The leadership of the Radical Party is divided into three positions, Leader, Deputy Leader and Chairman. The leader of the party is generally the national face of the party and presidential candidate, the Deputy Leader handles parliamentary affairs in terms of leading the grouping and the chairman organises the membership, recruitment drives, internal party governance, etc. Election Results Elections to the Federal Senate *Indicates Boundary Reforms **Merger into '''Radical Liberal Party''' Presidential Elections